Q&A: Keeping good times rolling at Galveston's Mardi Gras

Organizer hopes to restore 'magic and creativity'

Updated 8:12 pm, Sunday, January 27, 2013

Galvestonian Amy Canaba, center, and friends brought some spunk to the first Funky Uptown Umbrella Brigade Parade in 2011.

Galvestonian Amy Canaba, center, and friends brought some spunk to the first Funky Uptown Umbrella Brigade Parade in 2011.

Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff

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Mike Dean of Yaga's Entertainment is the organizer of Mardi Gras Galveston in the island's Historic District.

Mike Dean of Yaga's Entertainment is the organizer of Mardi Gras Galveston in the island's Historic District.

Photo: Courtesy Photo

Q&A: Keeping good times rolling at Galveston's Mardi Gras

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Galveston restaurateur Mike Dean says he was worried that the island's annual Mardi Gras festival might go away when he took over its management in 2011. In previous years, organizers had slashed spending on entertainment, cut back on police and traffic control, and turned it over to private promoters.

Now in the middle of a five-year city contract, Dean counts among his successes adding metal detectors for safety, setting a record for the world's largest umbrella dance, and bringing more people back to the city's Historic District for partying.

He says he's making changes, including a hefty ticket price increase, with the goal of bringing back the "kind of magic and creativity" the event had after preservationist George Mitchell resurrected it in 1985 after a 44-year absence.

Mardi Gras Galveston kicks off Friday and is expected to draw 300,000 to the city over two weekends. Dean, whose Yaga's Entertainment includes Yaga's Cafe, Beerfoot Beach Bar and other enterprises, took a break from unpacking beads to talk about the event. Edited excerpts follow:

Q: What got you interested in handling Mardi Gras?

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A: The fact that I was a bar owner. I'd been through the good times and the bad times of Mardi Gras. I felt like it was going away. If you have high crime, the city is paying too much money, they're just going to get rid of it. I felt I could fix that.

Q: What's the biggest difference?

A: We have invented and created 14 new parades. The Houston business community had left the event. We needed to find a way to get them to get involved.

Q: What's the logistics like for businesses and other organizations who participate in a parade?

A: We have nine floats that have room for 175 riders. We provide the entire parade with a hostess to load you on the float. They go through the district twice. When the parade is over, we move them to a balcony party. We charge $150 per rider. It's essentially our cost in the deal. Each rider gets $65 worth of beads, a balcony ticket, entrance to the entertainment district. We provide the insurance, the drivers, truck, logistical support for all the parade.

Q: What kind of insurance do you carry?

A: Five million dollars in liability coverage. The city is additionally insured. It's very expensive. When you have parades and you tell them that you're going to throw stuff at people, insurance companies don't like that very much.

Q: Who benefits the most economically?

A: The hotels, restaurants and bars. It comes at a time when people typically aren't coming to the beach. So for the hoteliers, to get that boost in income helps carry them to Spring Break.

Q: How many beads do you give out?

A: More than 3 million beads.

Q: What is the cleanup like?

A: Because I'm a Strand merchant, trash drives me crazy. We have a cleaning crew of 30 guys that clean constantly during the event. One thing I personally hate is turkey legs. I hate seeing them on the ground. You won't find that during Mardi Gras. To me, that's part of the image. If you want to invite nice people to have a party, it needs to be secure, clean, with nice Porta-Potties. Just some basic customer service ideas.

Q: Some islanders have complained about the cost of tickets. Do you have any deals?

A: We have a parade called the Funky Uptown Umbrella Brigade. Here's an opportunity for somebody who doesn't want to pay to enter. It's free if you will dress up, decorate an umbrella and dance the "Hokey Pokey." Sounds like fun, right? We set the world record for the largest umbrella dance: 400 the first year and 1,500 last year. We have a Golf Cart Parade. If you'll enter your golf cart for $10, we'll give you four free tickets. Enter the parade, throw out some beads, and we'll give you tickets to Mardi Gras.

Q: What's the weather forecast?

A: I don't look. I'm very superstitious. I have a jacket I only wear during Mardi Gras. It's just a really light windbreaker. I hope that by not buying a heavy jacket or preparing for cold weather, that it just won't happen.